A variety of beverage lid assemblies to which premiums (e.g., digital media disks, CD-ROM business cards, phone cards, coupons, booklets, advertising materials, etc.) can be attached are known. However, known beverage lid assemblies are not optimally suited for use with hot beverage containers (e.g., carry-out cups for coffee or tea). Among other deficiencies, known beverage lid assemblies to which premiums can be attached do not adequately protect the premium from being damaged by heat from a hot beverage product. Thermal protection is important where the premium is sensitive to heat, as in the case of media such as CD-ROM and DataPlay disks. For example, warpage caused by close proximity to heat from a hot beverage product can cause CD-ROMs to spin unevenly in the CD reader thereby rendering them unusable, causing consumers to be upset and manufacturers to incur additional costs. Additionally, media such as DataPlay disks or other cassette-type systems that use a closed compartment are vulnerable to condensation that could damage internal mechanisms. Condensation can occur on a premium when bathed in steam from a hot beverage or when cooled to a temperature lower than the dew point by proximity to an iced beverage. It would be desirable in these situations to have a lid assembly, for a hot or cold beverage, that insulates the premium from the pooling of moisture through condensation.
It would also be desirable to have a lid assembly for a beverage container that prevents the beverage product from splashing out of the container onto either a person or the premium.
It would also be desirable to have a lid assembly for a beverage container that allows the beverage product to be dispensed from the container with the premium still attached to the lid assembly.
It would also be desirable to have a lid assembly for a beverage container that securely holds the premium but also allows the premium to be removed from the lid assembly with a small amount of force, thereby lessening the changes of accidentally removing the lid assembly from the beverage container along with the premium or otherwise unintentionally separating the lid assembly from the beverage container.